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You can now get early access to Chapter 112 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my . You can also read up to Chapter 37 of Satoru Senju: Conquering the Omniverse!
"You know…? I've always been curious…" Naruto looked at Nawaki, who was walking alongside Jiraiya.
Nawaki looked at him, confused, not understanding what he meant.
"Well, you know… What does it feel like to explode into a thousand pieces?"
Nawaki rolled his eyes upon hearing the question.
"The same as this conversation. It's unpleasant."
Naruto burst out laughing at his reply.
Jiraiya and Karin laughed too.
"So, brat, when will you leave us? You said you had to accompany Miss Karura to Sunagakure." Jiraiya suddenly changed the subject.
Anyone could think, from his tone, that he wanted Naruto to leave; but actually, what he wanted was for Karura to stay longer with the group.
"Once we've convinced Tsunade to return to the village and accept the position of Fifth Hokage, we'll leave."
Jiraiya shrugged, visibly sad.
"I should be the one to accompany Miss Karura…" he muttered to himself.
Naruto cast a subtle glance at Karura, who quickly and discreetly shook her head.
It was clear she did not want Jiraiya to accompany her.
After a week of travel, they arrived at Tanzaku District, a city known for attracting crowds thanks to its gambling opportunities and beautiful women.
From what Naruto had noticed, Jiraiya had not been training Karin during the trip.
When he decided to ask him why, he learned from Jiraiya himself that Karin had already learned everything he could teach her about Fūinjutsu a long time ago.
Karin soon showed great pride about it.
The only purpose of taking her on this trip was for her to gain field experience.
Now it was her mother, Kushina, who was training Karin, passing on all her knowledge about Fūinjutsu.
While Jiraiya dedicated himself to gathering information, Karura and Nawaki went out to look for a place to stay during their days in Tanzaku District.
Karin took the opportunity to drag Naruto along with her.
What none of them knew was that a dozen shadow clones were already exploring the city looking for Tsunade.
Naruto had no intention of wasting time searching for her.
[Hashirama Senju: I really want to see what kind of woman little Tsuna has become.]
[Tobirama Senju: She has your genes, brother. I don't think things went very well for her...]
[Mito Uzumaki: She also has my genes, Tobirama. The last thing I remember about little Tsuna was that she was a beautiful young woman with a promising future ahead.]
[Tobirama Senju: Do you forget she inherited Hashirama's bad habit of gambling...?]
[Hashirama Senju: I hope she has better luck than me with that, HAHAHA!]
[Madara Uchiha: Now that you mention it, you owe me a lot of money, Hashirama...]
[Hashirama Senju: That… happened a long time ago! It's expired, Madara.]
[Madara Uchiha: Of course not! Doesn't matter if you're dead, I'll make you pay!]
[Hashirama Senju: I owed money to Madara the man, not Madara the woman!]
[Tobirama Senju: My brother has a point...]
[Madara Uchiha: You…!]
[Tobirama Senju: I know how my brother can pay you, Madara-chan…!]
[Madara Uchiha: Stop calling me that! I know you do it to mock me, Tobirama!]
[Tobirama Senju: Alright, Madara-chan, I'll stop calling you Madara-chan! My idea is that Hashirama can pay you with his body!]
[Madara Uchiha: W-what…?!]
[Mito Uzumaki: No way! That won't happen! Tobirama, stop joking!]
[Hashirama Senju: I had forgotten that Madara-chan was in love with me! How funny! Want a piece of my body? I'll give it to you if you count our debt settled!]
[Mito Uzumaki: Husband! Don't make me angry!]
Naruto stopped reading the chat messages realizing that, as usual, they were teasing Madara.
He quickly shifted his attention to Karin, who was beside him.
Karin glanced at him sideways, pretending she wasn't, although it was becoming harder for her to hide it.
For Karin, Naruto… had changed. A lot. He was no longer the same boy she met, with flashy clothes and rebellious hair that seemed to scream "look at me" at every step. Now, his hair was shorter, neater, falling forward in strands that framed his face with a mature air that made Karin's stomach flutter… in a good way.
He looked so good like that. More serious, stronger, more… attractive? Yes, definitely attractive.
She was also glad he had finally left behind that horrible orange jumpsuit. God, that thing! She never understood how he could go around so confidently wearing that.
Now he wore a white shirt, with the last buttons undone, revealing part of his chest. The collar was raised, as if he didn't have time—or didn't care—to fix it, but that only gave him a careless look that made him seem…
Karin swallowed hard and looked away, biting her lip.
She imagined—if only for a second—her fingers brushing that partially exposed chest… and blushed instantly, feeling her cheeks burn.
"Idiot… what are you thinking?" she scolded herself, awkwardly adjusting her glasses.
But it was hard not to imagine things when he dressed like that. Naruto paired that shirt with tight black pants, held by a brown belt from which his ninja headband hung.
Karin had noticed Naruto always changed where he wore his ninja headband.
It seemed he cared less and less where he wore it, as if he considered it more a nuisance than a symbol of his village.
Over his shirt, Naruto wore a black cloak that fluttered elegantly as he walked.
Once, she had heard Naruto joke about comparing himself to someone named Severus Snape… although, to be honest, she had no idea who he was supposed to be.
From time to time, Naruto would swing his cloak back while walking, adopting a serious expression just to joke about it.
Lastly, Naruto had a couple of pins on his cloak. One represented the Uzumaki Clan symbol; the other, a sun.
Once, he mentioned he was keeping it to give it to someone in the future… though he never said to whom.
She tried to focus on her breathing, ignoring the heat rising up her neck. But with every step he took beside her, with every fleeting glance, it seemed impossible not to think about how attractive Naruto was… and how easy it was to imagine clutching that cloak of his while kissing him.
She adjusted her glasses again and murmured to herself, barely audible:
"Definitely, orange didn't suit you…"
Naruto turned toward Karin, with a half-smile. He had heard her whisper perfectly, and amusement immediately appeared on his face.
"You look good too, Karin," he said with a calm smile, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He didn't say it shyly or hesitantly… just sincerely.
"Naruto, I…" Karin suddenly turned to him, completely blushing, as if about to say something important.
But at that moment, they both heard a group of men talking about a beautiful woman who was winning a lot of money at the slot machines.
Naruto knew immediately who they were talking about.
"I think we found Tsunade," he said with a smile. "Go call Jiraiya, Karin."
Karin puffed her cheeks in resignation, nodded, and walked away to find Jiraiya.
Meanwhile, Naruto approached the man to ask where he had seen the woman they were talking about.